The Prophet Daniel

Sunday, August 2, 2015

The Sabbath Renewal is
both a commandment and a gift. It is a day of freedom and release from labor.
It is described by Jews as a visiting queen to be greeted with festivity and on
going Shabbat, “joy of Sabbath.” At the arrival of the Sabbath, the home is
transformed into sacred space, and the meal becomes “a glimpse of human life as
it should be, in the design of God” (Harvey Cox).

Rabbi Abraham Heschel describes the Sabbath observance as a
cathedral, constructed not of brick and mortar, but of time. The Sabbath helps us escape the tyranny of time.
Heschel says that “Judaism tries to foster the vision of life as a pilgrimage
to the seventh day; the longing for the renewal all the days of the week,” and
a taste of the world to come… “Six days we wrestle with the world; on the Lord’s
Day we care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul.”

A believer and follower of Jesus defy disobedience by observing a
day of renewal.

St. Augustine stated; “Our hearts are restless, until we find rest
in Jesus.” The Sabbath Rest sanctifies time through
rest and inaction, a “sacred stasis.” We don’t “keep” the Sabbath; the Sabbath
keeps us. Work is a gift from God, but work is not our God. The Sabbath is a
day to recover from the stresses of the week. However, weekend leisure without
the worship of God is not the plan! We worship because we need it, God deserves
it, and Scripture commands it.

By observing Sabbath, we are no longer slaves to the “tyranny of
the urgent.” We set aside our anxieties and busyness, our pursuit of more, and
we recognize that our refuge is God alone. We are not alone, or on our own.

There’s a danger: We can externally observe a day of rest while remaining
restless. I know of people who sit in church taking notes, not on the sermon,
but for tasks they need to accomplish. They’re unable to disengage from the
work-week, and they’re watching the clock; they can’t wait till Monday to fret
over their work. Such an inauthentic Sabbath provides no rest. All the while God says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Even thinking about work
should be avoided. We need to rest from the very thought of labor, and relax
without guilt.

A believer and follower of Jesus defies disobedience by observing
a day of renewal and by resting. You Know I love ya, Don

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Daniel 4:34a "At the end of
that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was
restored."

The Bible is full of examples of people whom God has raised up
from obscurity and exalted to great prosperity. David was a young shepherd boy
whom God made a king. Job was a humble farmer when God prospered him with
financial independence. Amos was promoted from a fig picker to being one of the
great prophets of God. Daniel was lifted from a lowly servant in a boot camp in
Babylon to becoming a national commander.

But the key to their success was that they never lost perspective in the
process. All these men remembered who it was who raised them up… where their
help came from. Now Nebuchadnezzar joins their ranks acknowledging that “the
Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he
wishes” (cf. 7:25).

No matter what position you may now have, no matter what possessions you may
now own, no matter what relationships you may now have, no matter what your
present skills and abilities are, and no matter how secure you may now feel in
these things, you must know that you are always in complete dependence on God.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

The root problem at the very core of all of our lives is pride.
Now I know that’s nothing new. In fact, this problem first surfaced in the
Garden of Eden. The problem with pride is that it robs us not only of a full
and meaningful relationship with other people but, even more so, it robs us of
a full and meaningful relationship with God.

A working definition of pride: Pride is simply our
refusal to acknowledge God as we should. It is failing to realize fully that
all of our abilities, achievements, possessions and relationships are not due
ultimately to our sound judgment or superior wisdom, but to the gifts and grace
of a sovereign God.

God has declared himself in Scripture as the active antagonist of the proud.
God is adamantly opposed to those who set themselves up in proud
self-sufficiency. Throughout Scripture we find the same theme repeatedly: “God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (cf. James
4:6). But I’m afraid that most
of us today are unaware of our problem with pride. Daniel 4 offers three very
basic steps in overcoming pride. A person
can over come pride by taking the steps of knowing where your helps comes from,
acknowledging God is greater, and recognizing that God is right.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Daniel 3:17: “If we are
thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from
it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.”

The Down Syndrome Indiana Association is the benefactor of the
Rolls Royce Company Fly-in every August. One year they brought two, brand new Rolls
Royce cars to the show and they would rope off around the cars and not allow
you to get to close or to touch it.

Totally is defined as “completely” … Imagine how you would feel if
you ordered a new Rolls Royce Bentley and paid $176,000 for this car. You
ordered it in your favorite color with your choice leather chairs and automatic
turbo charged engine.

Yet, when it arrives it comes just as you ordered, but it is not
assembled. Then, there is one box marked… only use these parts if needed….
WHAT?

When you ordered your luxury car, you expected it to be complete
and totally assembled with all of its parts in use. Right?

To be totally committed is to be completely assembled for Jesus
and totally committed to your fellow brothers and sisters in Jesus. Total followers of Jesus are resolved to get
rid of the garbage in their lives and totally resolved to remain in the truth.

The Babylonian strategy was to take the brightest and best from
each culture and make them Babylonian in their thinking and Babylonian in their
religion.

Daniel and his friends are humble enough and smart enough not to balk at being
renamed, they know that sticks and stones and Babylonian spears can break their
bones, but changes of names couldn’t really harm them.

Whereas, when it came to their eating habits, that was another story. Long
before we knew about germs and microbes and the nature of diseases, God knew.
So He forbade the nation of Israel to eat certain foods that were prone to
disease, if not handled right. Foods like pork and crustaceans. Foods that King
Neb was likely to serve for dinner.

In addition, the Babylonians had a practice of offering their animals to their
gods as sacrifices before they ate them. So for Daniel and his friends wanted
to stay away from eating any meat that had been offered to idols.

Daniel was definite about his conviction to maintain inner purity! As we live in a world prone to seek out the mediocre, I pray we resolve to not defile the inner purity we discover in Jesus. You know I love ya, Don

Baptism (ˈbapˌtizəm)
- the religious rite of immersion of an individual in water, symbolizing
purification, regeneration and admission to the Christian faith.

Baptism is a
public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It is the declaration of a believer
that they have received Christ into their life and have become a “new Creation”
in Him. Christian Baptism is … A Sacrament: A Outward and Visible
Representation of a inward and invisible reality!

Sign of
Conversion: Matthew
28:16-20

Then
the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them
to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came
to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing (immersing)
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the age.”

Death to
the former things: Colossians
2:12

“…having
been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him
through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

As a way
of Life and Eternal Life:
Romans 6:1-7

“What
shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no
means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or
don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in
order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, we too may live a new life.

“For if
we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be
united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was
crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has
died has been set free from sin.”

As the
means of Salvation: 1
Peter 3:19-22

“After
being made alive, he (Jesus) went and made proclamation to the imprisoned
spirits— to (KJV – “Like unto”) those
who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah
while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were
saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you
also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience
toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into
heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in
submission to him.”

So, why wait ... become a follower of Jesus and let him bring hope to your life. If you would like to be baptized, call me at 317-966-1959 and we can chat about it. You know I love ya, Don

Websites that I read regularly!

Project Kenya Prayer Card

2013 prayer card

Welcome

Thank You for taking a look at my blog page. Feel welcome and ask questions.

I am married to Karen, we have five children.Matthew, Alice, Nicholas, Kendyll, & Nathan.

Matthew and Alice are our biological children and Nicholas (passed away from Heart Surgery complications at 2 months old), Kendyll, and Nathan were adopted. I do not believe biology makes a parent...it helps you get there, but parenting takes work and dedication covered in Prayer!

I am love My God, my Wife and Children, and Spiritual Formation. Acts 2:42 states that Christians are "devoted." I may never be famous, but I will be famous in my home and in my world as one that is devoted to God, Family, and Growing in Jesus.